Prix Femina


The Prix Femina is a French literary prize awarded each year by an exclusively female jury. The prize, which was established in 1904, is awarded to French-language works written in prose or verse by male or female writers, and is announced on the first Wednesday of November each year. Four categories of prizes are awarded: Prix Femina, Prix Femina essai, Prix Femina étranger, and Prix Femina des lycéens. A Prix Femina spécial is occasionally awarded.

History

The Prix Femina was created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine La Vie heureuse, which later merged into the magazine Femina, which ceased publication in 1954.
After the Great War, in 1919 Librairie Hachette proposed to the allied countries to create a similar prize. Great Britain accepted, and the first meeting of its jury was held on 20 June 1920. The prize was called the Prix Femina–Vie Heureuse, and it was awarded to English writers, from 1920 to 1939. Among the winners were E. M. Forster in 1925 and Virginia Woolf in 1928.
Similarly, in 1920 Lady Northcliffe, wife of Alfred Harmsworth, proposed to create a prize for French writers called the Northcliffe prize. Among the winners were Joseph Kessel in 1924, Julien Green in 1928, and Jean Giono in 1931. The last meeting of the jury for this prize was held on 10 April 1940, before the Nazis occupied France during World War II.
The archives of the English Committee are held by Cambridge University Library.

Jury

, the jury of the Femina consisted of eleven female members:
There are currently four categories: Prix Femina, Prix Femina essai, Prix Femina étranger, and Prix Femina des lycéens.

Prix Femina

Prix Femina étranger

The Prix Femina étranger is awarded annually to a foreign-language literary work translated into French.

Prix Femina essai

The Prix Femina essai, established in 1999, is awarded to an essay. It replaced the Prix Hélène Vacaresco.

Prix Femina spécial

The has been awarded to several writers, for the entirety of their work.
In 2017, anthropologist and essayist Françoise Héritier was awarded a Prix Femina spécial.
Pierre Guyotat was awarded the prize in 2018.
In 2019, the Prix Femina spécial was awarded to Irish novelist Edna O'Brien, following the publication of her last novel, Girl, which had been shortlisted for the Prix Femina étranger. The prize was awarded in honour of her whole body of work, and it was the first time a non-French author had won it.

Prix Femina des lycéens

Femina–Vie Heureuse

The following awards were made during the lifetime of the award.
YearTitleAuthor
1920William - an EnglishmanCicely Hamilton
1921The Splendid FairingConstance Holme
1922Dangerous AgesRose Macaulay
1923GruachGordon Bottomley
1924Roman PicturesPercy Lubbock
1925A Passage to IndiaE. M. Forster
1926Precious BaneMary Webb
1927Adam's BreedRadclyffe Hall
1928To the LighthouseVirginia Woolf
1929Gallion's ReachH. M. Tomlinson
1930Portrait in a MirrorCharles Morgan
1931A High Wind in JamaicaRichard Hughes
1932Tobit TransplantedStella Benson
1933Small TownBradda Field
1934Cold Comfort FarmStella Gibbons
1935HarrietElizabeth Jenkins
1936The Root and the FlowerL. H. Myers
1937Faith, Hope, no CharityMargaret Lane
1938The PorchRichard Church
1939Count BelisariusRobert Graves